Abigail612

I'm poor. My resources were mainly ones that I already had and one review course to help keep me organized. It really was worth it to help keep me together. My resources and costs were... NCSBN 3 week course (completed 90% of the material) $50 Mosby's memory cards for Pharmacology (a resource I had from NS $15 used) $0 Mosby's memory cards Pathophysiology (a resource I had from NS $15 used) $0 PrepU Nclex 10,000 (resource from NS) $20 for 6 month extension So all together I spent about $70 on additional material for the NCLEX ($100 if you count the previous resources) and I passed with 75qts. Everybody studies for the NCLEX differently and everybody has different experiences and perceptions of the exam. You just have to do your research on the materials available and select the one that is right for you (whether it is resources you already have or additional one). Then make yourself goals, get focused, and complete your set goals. Finally do not get suckered in by gimmicky adds for expensive resources. I watched few and almost got scared into purchasing the different more expensive courses. If you want to use more expensive resources do it because you believe that the material will meet your personal needs not because you were scared into it. Good luck to future test takers! :)

What I found helpful was practicing my skills over those subjects and having a friend from the class quiz me asking "why are we performing this skill?" and "what are you looking for?" Leaarning and studying while having tactile applications really helps to cement stuff in your mind. Also find a good study group, they don't have to be your soul means of studying but spending an hour or two a few days a week quizing each other and hashing stuff out can be beneficail. sometimes other students remeber things that you missed or you may be able to bring something to the table, but pick your group wisely, you need a group that will be benificial to you not detrimental. Oh and sometimes text books will offer NCLEX questions either at the end of each chapter or online with an access code, a lot of the time the questions can give you a feel of what you may see on the test. Good luck on your next exam!

Where I work usually a CNA espeically one just out of school usually has two weeks of orientation, the first day or two they just follow and observe and help out here and there. Then after a few days we give them a few patients to be responsible for and to do charts on and we then towards the end we end up spliting the wing three ways (usually only split 2 ways) so that they can get a feel for having an actual assignment while still having my partner and I helping out and giving advice. Just do your best and make the effort and you will do fine :)! Good luck!

I think that it is very important as a nurse to learn what your CNAs learn. You never know when you may have to pitch in and help. Also you are their suppervisor you have to be able to observe what they are doing and that they a doing it correctly. If not then it is your job to instruct them how to do it properly and how can you do that if you do not learn it yourself? Also as an RN if you discharge a patient to the care of their family or are a home health nurse you may need to instruct the patient and or the family on how to do proper bathing, toileting and other important techniques.

One thing that some friends of mine did was a hand washing project. They had a beach ball that the kids tossed around and then they put it under a black light ! Kids love that sort of stuff! Good luck

Evening shift and nights shifts tend to be under apreciated as well. Many times day shift leave things undone and so we as evening shift have to clean up after them as well as do our own work. During holidays day shift is usually offered a free turkey dinner for being willing to work the holidays, the evening and night shifts got nothing, when we asked why we did not recieve a meal we were told we did not deserve it because we did not work as hard. Was not impressed !

I'm thinking its not, my parents gave it to me because I needed it for school I think it was one of wally world's $30 specials

Wow my printer goes through 2 ink cartridges for every reem of paper so it costs me $85 for every 500 page that breaks down to .17 cents a page where as the school only costs .03 cents a page or .06 censt double sided!

What you have planned out looks like a reasonible load so I would just go for it. I would also apply to all the LVN, RN, and BSN programs that you think may be a possibility for you and even ones that you think may not. You never know what school will accept you until you apply! Good luck!

I acctually found it was cheaper to print things off at the schools librbay as compared to my own. You may want to do the math you may find its cheaper as well.

I would suggest taking A&PII first the sooner you take it after A&PI the better because you have to rely fairly heavily on what you learned in A&PI. I would take either Stats or Chem with that and then do the other with Micro the next semester.

Just do your pre reqs there isn't any point in wasting time and money on classes you do not need. Thats what I did and it worked out fine, that is one of the many pruposes for community colleges is to get people ready for Universities at a more affordable cost.

All the online classes I have taken before were all open book, however this did not make it easy because the tests were timed so there was not a lot of time to look up all the questions plus the questions are twice as hard as compared to in class so really you had to study in order to do well.

I wouldn't bother having two messanger bags I would just switch out the books you don't need the night before, plus by haveing two bags you always run the risk of grabing the wroung one (I so can see myself doing that! ). Definitely get the New Balance. Their factory is in my town so literaly everyone one has them at work including myself. I always get the white leather ones, they are very comfortable and durable. When I first became a CNA I thought that they were to expensive and so I bought shoes from walmart, I was buying new shoes every three months. Then NB had their tent sale and I bought a pair of their white leather ones for a good price and they lasted me a year and a half. The only reason that they needed to be thrown out was because they were stained beyound all hope (which is expected when you have to wear white).

There are a couple perks to being an NP over a PA. The first one is you can get a decent paying job while getting your NP, this will also give you patient experience. Also none of you nursing classes will apply towards your PA only you previouse degree in biology unlike the NP. One other perk is that at least in some states as a NP after two years of working under a MD you can go out on your own and hang up your own shingle unlike a PA who always has to be under the supervision of an MD. I am not a PA, NP or even a RN yet but this is what one of my instructors told my class when a similar question came up. Good luck!

Most of my instructors have had us buy the individual books that go with each class they all seem to like the "Prentice Hall Reviews and Rationales" series. They are nice because they give you a pre test and the rationales for each answer then they give you a small chapter to read giving you the key concepts about the topic of the chapter and then they give you a post test with the rationales.

We had clickers for my Micro and my Chem class they were kind of nice because some times the instructors would make questions that were similar to the ones that would be on the test so that we knew if we were ready for the exam or not. Plus it got everyone involoved not just the same few who answer all the questions.

You can definitely skip the Cyclopedia and the APA manual for now they are just references. I did not know some places had you buy Syllabuses but if you do I would get that first. All my teachers wanted us to have ours printed and brought to class on the first day. The rest I am not sure I would let your instructor know the situation and ask them.

No a lot of teachers don't harp to much on chapter 2 because it is chemistry, they assume that most people have had high school chemistry (at least for most classes in my area it is a pre req). Plus chem isn't as vital in your understanding as Biology is which is usually what is in the first chapter. In future exams all ways study all the chapters you have gone over. Hope this helps.

My first patient experience was when I was in clinicals as a CNA, I went to wash a man (first time washing a guy) lets call him Tim (not his name) I was alone because the CNA who was assigned to me was finishing up another patient. I helped washed the guys upper half, everything was going fine, I had him pull down his pants to do his as you call it "private bits", and I could not believe it his scrotum was larger than a grapefruit!! At that moment the CNA knocked and i politely excused myself behind the privacy currtain as she walked in and I wispered "OH MY GOSH!!!!" My CNA smiled and said your doning Tim aren't you.

When I am not useing it its usually in my desk drawer with my BP cuff.

I personally would have two just because if you were to forget and get behind on laudry or they get damaged and you need a secound set you will want to have them. I always keep a spare set in the car because I never know when i may need to change, in the last 4 years that I have worked as a CNA I have had to change my uniform at work about 4 times so it does happen.

My advice would be to complete the class. If you drop now it will still be a fail, it is better to complete the class and get the grade that you earned than to drop and get an F. You can try to talk with the head of the nursing department or the dean but the may not be to helpful . I have seen professors do much worse and have a fail rate of over 75% and they didn't get so much as a slap on the wrist but maybe your situation will be different. Good luck!

I felt the same way in one of my labs last semester, the teacher would go over some hand out (that wasn't to useful), gave us our check off sheet, and told us to "practice". Some of the students would ask her to demonstrate them for us and she would sigh and roll her eyes and kind of have an attitude about it. Apparently we were suppose to watch a video series that demonstrated the skills, and came with a bundle through the schools book store but nobody knew that so alot of people bought their books else were used (myself included). The video series cost nearly $100 when purchased seperatly. Also the videos themselves were not that good and some of the demonstrations were done improperly! At the end of the semester I left the teacher a review saying that we are paying for a three hour lab and we should be using that time better and recievig proper demonstrations from the instructor. And how we should not have to pay for videos that poorly demostrates the skills. I also told her that the textbook was not very good either and consistantly had poor rating on websites like Amazon. She must have listened because she is useing a different book this year and it does not include a video series! :)

Mine was online and it was challenging. You really had to pay attention to the small details, the papers were easy and the quizes were ok but the tests were pretty hard (worth a total of 50% of your grade) because of the fact that it was open book. I did not study like I should have but I still got a B+ which was better than over half my class. I found some online quizes and flash cards people had made befor on quizlet and on the textbooks website they helped with at least the multiple choice portions of the test, but not the fill in the blank or the essays